The launch was flawed due to poor software and unproven geolocation services. Ultimate Poker attracted about 300 peak players and the same number of players participated in sit and gos and tournaments.

Player complaints were common due to the poor software. The site’s inability to locate some players caused it to lose customers.

Geolocation software was perfected in a short time. WSOP.com launched on September 17, 2013. Most of these issues were resolved by the time it went live. WSOP.com enjoyed massive brand awareness and dominated the market within two months.

Real Gaming, backed by South Point Casino, launched in February 2014. It has never been able to obtain more than one percent of the market.

Ultimate Poker succumbed to the small intrastate poker player pool in Nevada. It left the Nevada market on November 17, 2014. This leaves onlyWSOP.com and Real Gaming in the Nevada online poker market.

On March 24, 2015, a liquidity sharing agreement between Delaware and Nevada went live. Delaware and Nevada players now sit at the same cash game, sit and go, and tournament tables at WSOP.com.

New Jersey legal online poker

The New Jersey online poker market was thought to be groundbreaking. Six online poker sites entered New Jersey with the hopes of being the trailblazer. The market was only able to support two platforms.

The New Jersey legislature legalized online poker and casino games in the state in December 2012. Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed the original language of the bill. Christie insisted that more funds go towards problem gambling resources.

He also demanded that the tax rate be 15 percent, as opposed to the 10 percent proposed by state lawmakers. It only took one day for the New Jersey legislature to approve the changes and the governor to sign it into law.

New Jersey online poker and casino games launched on November 21, 2013. There was a five-day testing period. Most sites successfully completed the test period within the five days.

Golden Nugget was the only company that was unable to go live to the public within the prescribed period.

Borgata is the strongest brand in the Atlantic City gaming market. That carried over onto the online gambling side. Borgata and its partner Party Poker dominated the New Jersey online poker world in the early days.

WSOP NJ was the second biggest site after Borgata/partypoker. It used 888 software, but was a standalone room. 888 operated its own platform, but did not share player pools with WSOP.com until January 2015.

Two sites were not competitive in the New Jersey online poker market.

Ultimate Poker, and its sister casino UCasino, left the New Jersey regulated iGaming market on October 5, 2014. Betfair dumped its online poker room on December 1, 2014.

The site opened at around the same size of WSOP.com and Borgata. PokerStars offers a unique lottery sit and go product called Spin & Go. This has helped it attract more sit and go players than the other two New Jersey poker sites.

It is supported by Rep. John Payne, who is set to retire after the 2016 session. Many proponents of online gambling see 2016 as a “best chance” scenario for passing online gambling regulation in the state.

The loss of Rep. Payne could undermine support for the issue in the legislature.

AB 2863

AB 2863 would have awarded the state’s horse racing industry with the first $60 million in tax revenue generated each year. Most of this money would have gone towards purses. About five percent of it would have gone towards pensions and insurance for employees in the industry.

The tax rates and licensing fees were not determined under California’s latest online poker bill. Initially there was no bad actor language in AB 2863, however the bill was later amended to include a blackout period for so-called bad actors. This language was a major sticking point for PokerStars and its coalition.

AB 167

AB 167 was introduced by Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer. This bill would have allowed racetracks and sites that accepted US players without proper licensing after December 31, 2006.

It was supported by the PokerStars coalition, including Morongo, Hawaiian Gardens, Bicycle Casino, and Commerce Casino, as well as some other tribes and card clubs that had not joined that group.

A seven-tribe coalition that includes Pechanga, Barona, and Aqua Caliente opposed this bill.

AB 9

AB 9, known as the Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015, was introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto.

The bill would have excluded racetracks and sites that accepted US players without licensing after December 31, 2006. This bill wasopposed by the PokerStars coalition, but supported by the tribes that opposed AB 167.

Legal US online poker FAQs

Is it legal to play online poker in the US?

It depends on the state.

In Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, there are online poker sites that are licensed by the associated state gaming commission.

There are laws that make it illegal to play online poker in Louisiana, Utah, and Washington. In Washington, it is a felony to play any form of online gambling.

It is a misdemeanor in Utah and Louisiana to play online poker or any other form of gambling over the internet. No other states make it illegal to play online poker, even if the site is located offshore.

No federal law applies to individuals playing online poker. No online poker player has ever been charged with a crime.

What’s the difference between a legal and offshore poker site?

A legal online poker site is licensed by the state in which it accepts bets. The operators go through the same licensing process as a land-based casino company. The funds are held in an account within the oversight of the state gaming commission.

An offshore poker site is often illegal and does not have licensing in the jurisdiction where it accepts bets. Players deposit money at these websites at their own risk. There is no recourse if the site fails and funds are not paid.

Why isn’t there a federal online poker bill?

There have been many attempts to pass an online poker bill at the federal level.

Rep. Barney Frank first proposed regulated online poker in 2009. Frank was joined by Rep. Joe Barton in 2011 in attempting to get Congress to repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

In 2012, Sen. Harry Reid and Sen. Jon Kyl combined to propose a poker-only bill known in the poker community as Reid/Kyl. The proposal was a massive antigambling bill that would have banned most forms of it, while exempting poker.

Reid/Kyl was proposed during the lame duck session after the 2012 elections. Kyl, a former sponsor of the UIGEA, was retiring. Reid saw the bill as a compromise. It died when Congress adjourned.

There is an anti-online gambling bill that has seemingly died and resurfaced a few times in recent years.

The Restoration of America’s Wire Act would not legalize online poker. It would reverse state-licensed online gaming, including poker and lotteries. It is sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

The bill was written by lobbyists of Las Vegas Sands, opponents of most forms of online gambling.

None of these bills have managed to gain traction. Many politicians do not want to get involved in an issue that would normally fall under states’ rights.

Will online poker ever be legal in my state?

This depends on the state.

It seems impossible to think online poker will ever be legal in Utah as it offers no other forms of legalized gambling.

On the other hand, legal online poker in California, Illinois, Iowa, New York, and Pennsylvania is a real possibility. Most other states have had little in the way of proposed legislation or discussion.

Can I play at a legal online poker site while not in that state?

Legal online poker sites licensed in Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey use geolocation software to ensure that players are located in the state at the time of action.

This takes into account the IP address of the player, location of a related cell phone, and nearby wireless access points. It is impossible to play at legal online poker sites when located outside state lines.

Is my money safe at legal US online poker sites?

Money held at legal poker sites is just as safe as it would be behind the cashier cage at the casino.

The same gaming regulations that apply to live casinos are also valid for regulated sites. All deposits are held in separate accounts from cash used for operations.

How do I deposit at legal poker sites?

Legal poker sites in the US accept deposits by:

Visa

MasterCard

Electronic checks

Neteller

Skrill

PayNearMe

PayPal

Cash at associated casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas

How do I withdraw from legal poker sites in the United States?

Legal poker sites pay winnings by:

Electronic check

Check by mail

Bank wire

Neteller

Skrill

PayPal

Cash at associated casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas

What is the UIGEA?

The UIGEA made it illegal for banks to process payments for unlawful gambling sites. It did not define what that was. Most publicly-traded sites immediately left the US market after the UIGEA was enacted.

These included Party Poker, iPoker, Microgaming Poker Network, Ongame, and 888. All of these examples returned to the US market when states started to regulate online poker.

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday was the day the US online poker community describes April 15, 2011.

On that date, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were charged with gambling crimes by the US Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York.

Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker did not have enough cash on hand to pay players. PokerStars paid all customers within weeks. PokerStars eventually made all Full Tilt Poker players whole after coming to an agreement with federal authorities.